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A mysterious hero emerges from the dungeon
In the showdown of Wii Mysterious Dungeon games, Chocobo's Dungeon has one major advantage over Shiren the Wanderer 3: the awwwwww factor. The adorableness of the Chocobo protagonist and pretty much everything else in the game may help sway roguelike fans who are on the fence about which title to buy.As if the game didn't already overload on the cute, these new screenshots reveal a new character named Dungeon Hero X. Where did he come from? Is he friend, enemy, or both? No one knows (although we doubt he's firing the "Mog Beam" at the poor Chocobo out of friendship). It is a mystery of the Mystery Dungeon. A cute mystery.
Shiren the Wanderer DS coming to the U.S., for real this time
Soon after we spotted Shiren the Wanderer DS on GameStop's online store, it disappeared. We thought that maybe GameStop was trying to make us look like lying jerks, or that maybe one of their employees was trying to will a localized version into existence.Well, that fictional employee's totally-made-up plan worked, because Sega announced that Shiren the Wanderer DS will be released in America in 2008. This is the same kind of Mysterious Dungeon gameplay seen in Izuna and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, only more brutal. It seems like the perfect handheld game to occupy thousands and thousands of hours. Or, in our case, fifteen agonizingly frustrating minutes.
TGS07: Mysterious Trailer: Shiren the Wanderer 3
A monster randomly dropped this trailer after we killed it, and we had to carry it around for a while until we found a Scroll of Trailer Identify. We were afraid it was going to be something useless like a trailer for Super Glove Ball, but we lucked out! A +3 Video of Shiren the Wanderer!It was then a matter of posting it before we died and had to go find another one.
Shiren the Wanderer 3 soon to punish Wii owners
Chunsoft's ridiculously difficult Roguelike series, Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren, is getting a new installment on the console that we kind of thought would be the least likely destination for crazy-hard games. The new edition, Fuurai no Shiren 3, will be in (very nice-looking) full 3D, and will contain a new item-growth feature in which items left in certain spots will improve after a certain number of turns.Perhaps our favorite thing about this game is that it renders a common criticism of the Wii invalid. As of right now, the Wii officially has the most "hardcore" game of any next-gen console. We do feel a little bit bad about Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, which is pretty much redundant now.
Izuna 2 employs the buddy system
While Izuna 2 looks, for the most part, exactly like its predecessor, it is getting one significant new addition: a tag system. Izuna will be able to tag out and be replaced by Shino (pictured) or another character, allowing you to continue in a dungeon past the period in which you'd normally need to bail out. It's important to go into dungeons with a friend! That's just basic ninja training.We don't know how many other dungeon crawlers have a character-switching mechanic, but it seems like a great way for players to manage difficult dungeons. In fact, we hope that hardcore players of this kind of thing don't think it'll make the game too easy.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 commercial inspires us to confront our bullies
There's a clear divide at the Fanboy office between those who've actually played through a roguelike game and the rest of us who've never been able to boast such bravery. The dungeon crawl veterans have the best parking spots, use the newest computers, and even get to cut in front of everyone in the lunch line.Whenever one of us who hasn't meddled with the genre walks past the "popular" table in the cafeteria, some jerk inevitably sticks their leg out to trip us. As we push ourselves back up, searching for our glasses amongst the mess of food spilled from our plastic trays, the group of bullies howl with raucous laughter. We find our glasses and put them on just in time to see our crush look away in disgust.After years of cowering, we've decided that it's time to finally tackle the roguelike genre. Seeing Japan's latest commercial for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2: Time Exploration Team and Darkness Exploration Team was just what we needed to convince us. Both games look adorable enough, and from what we've heard, they're not as difficult as most other dungeon crawl titles! It won't be long before we'll be able to stand up to those roguelike ruffians! Drink some milk, do a bunch of push-ups, and join us past the post break for the video.
Shiren possibly wandering to the US
One of the best examples of the Mysterious Dungeon subgenre of roguelike RPGs appears to be on its way, one step per turn, to the US. Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren (Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer) was one of the few entries in Chunsoft's series that didn't carry a license-- it's actually numbered as a sequel to a Dragon Quest spinoff game, despite the total change in setting. It's been ported from the SNES to the DS, and was released in Japan in 1995. If, as Gamestop says, Sega is releasing it in February, it'll be the first American release for the game, which also recently came out on the Japanese Virtual Console.The DS has some experience with the genre: Chunsoft is working on their second Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is similar in gameplay. So if you've played those, you have an idea of what to expect. If you like random dungeons, unknown items, and permanent character death (and, really, who doesn't love permanent death), you'll probably enjoy Shiren the Wanderer. If you're a normal person, you'll probably cry a lot. Still not sure? Check out this exhaustive two-part writeup of the SNES version![Via NeoGAF]
Izuna finds steady work
Get ready for another kick in the face! We mean that in a good "a hard game is coming out" way, and not the more literal "we have already kicked you in the face at least once, and are about to do so again" way.Success announced that they're working on a sequel to Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, tentatively called Gouma Reifu Den Izuna Ni (Devil-conquering Soul Badge Izuna 2, which is the same as the first Japanese title, but with a 2 on the end). It'll be out in Japan this fall. We don't know anything else about it, except that there will be a new character, and that the game will no doubt be brutally difficult. Hey, Japanese game companies: how about a Roguelike Training game while you're all training-crazy?[Via Insert Credit]
Shiren the Wanderer is insanely complicated
Coinciding with the Japanese Virtual Console release of Mysterious Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer for the SNES, GameSetWatch columnist John Harris has posted (the first half of) an exhaustive writeup of the game. His @Play column, about roguelikes, is consistently excellent even for those of us who are completely oblivious to the genre, and we're glad to have an excuse to mention this especially involved entry.It's probably a good idea to read this before you jump into any roguelike (except for maybe Pokemon Mystery Dungeon). Shiren the Wanderer and other Mysterious Dungeon games are a little bit simplified, but still ridiculous in their complexity. Random items must be identified, monsters gain levels if they kill something, and it can take multiple playthroughs of a game to level up a weapon to satisfaction. Even containers are random and may turn out to heal you or destroy your items. We have limited experience with the Mysterious Dungeon series-- we played the first few floors of Nightmare of Druaga, and then quit before it got into the serious stuff. After getting killed, of course. We don't know if we're brave enough to try another one.
Stay away from the Mystery Dungeon if you value your humanity
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon featured the story of a human who gets transformed into a Pokemon and ends up exploring a big dungeon with a team of Pokemon. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 features the story of a human who gets transformed into a Pokemon and enters the fast-paced world of fashion design. Or does the human explore a big dungeon? We always get the two mixed up. Now that we think about it, it's definitely the dungeon one.We're willing to accept that an entire society is built around the concept of capturing animals and making them fight. We're okay with the idea of technologically rendering said animals pocket-sized for convenience. But this? Preposterous.
Chocobo's Mysterious Trailer
Square Enix has released a new video of the Wii version of Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, and it looks a lot like its predecessors, in a good way! This series has a long history, and it's nice to see that this looks like it's going to be a real Mysterious Dungeon game and not some kind of dungeon-themed party minigame fest.The best part of the whole trailer is how cozy the town looks: the little chocobo is seen walking down cobblestone streets, surrounded by butterflies, napping on a dock, playing on a swing set, and even having a nice cup of coffee at a cafe. Of course, this all serves to make it seem more cruel and horrible when he's trapped in a lava-filled dungeon. We laughed.
New video from Chocobo's Dungeon Wii
Gaming site JeuxFrance recently got their hands on a teaser video from the Wii-bound Chocobo's Dungeon: Labyrinth of Forgotten Time. The roguelike dungeon crawler is packed with our feathery friends from the Final Fantasy series and looks as if it will continue the same game style as the PlayStation titles. Among the obligatory cut-scene-laden clips are a few seconds of gameplay, but no hint regarding Wii remote functionality. The video also raises an important question: "How many different ways can the chocobo theme be remixed before it gets old?".
Rescue Pokemon at a discount price
If you're desperate to join the Pokemon playing masses, but don't have enough cash to spend on luxury items like Diamond and Pearl releases, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team might be more suited to your budget. Amazon has a one-day deal for the game, offering new copies of the dungeon crawler at a sale price of $16.99. Though this title strays from the usual Pokemon formula, fans of roguelikes will have a lot of fun with it. That Piplup punk can take a hike anyway! Squirtle for life![Via CAG]See also: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 in the works
Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania ... roguelikes?!
Santiago Zapata has done something horribly, horribly geeky. As if The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Castlevania weren't retro enough, Zapata has re-created each game as an ASCII roguelike. Now, instead of hopping across pools of lava to collect an energy tank, you press "D" to jump, then tap the arrow keys to scoot across slightly darker characters that symbolize higher ground. Despite the obvious limitations the roguelike style presents, Zapata has managed to accurately emulate the feel of each game. You know, even though Link is a purple @ symbol.All three games include a full arsenal of music and sound effects, and CastlevaniaRL packs its own graphical tileset. Very little documentation is provided at the moment (the games are still works-in-progress), so start pressing buttons and you'll get the gist of things. Fortunately they aren't nearly as complex as most roguelikes, so you don't need to remember that "Q" stands for "quaff" which means "drink".
Roguelike magazine launches, focuses on game aesthetics
Real gamers know that if you see an uppercase letter D, turn tail and run. Dragons are fierce. Forget polygons, forget sprites, Roguelike games do it with text on a black screen. And they're some of the most complex and enjoyable games ever to grace a computer. Unfortunately most modern gamers turn their noses at the dated visuals and refuse to give Roguelikes a second look.Well, Mario Donick is not gonna take it anymore. He recently launched Roguelike. The magazine, a publication dedicated to increasing awareness of the art and aesthetics behind the Roguelike genre. Each issue will dive into the inner workings of these games and discuss things like typography, interface, coding, and more. The first issue is online and ready for consumption, while number two is on its way April 2nd. It's a little slice of old school heaven for many gamers, and required reading for whippersnappers who can't tell their NetHack from an Angband.[Via TIGSource]
